Social Media 101

www.MarkbeechMarketing.com 1

Social Media 101

Presented by:Jeanne Willson

Markbeech Marketingwww.MarkbeechMarketing.com


“For a company not to market itself is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you’ve done but no one

else does.”


Social Media

• When used properly…Social Media Will– help build your brand

• build valuable relationships with your customers/clients, prospects, industry leaders

• establish you as an expert• build your referral network

– give you a competitive advantage– provide you valuable feedback

• Should be an essential part of your marketing mix


Social Media Success“Toward the end of 2008, I realized that I would have no discretionary money for advertising in 2009,” said Leslie Saint McLellan, director of marketing and tourism. “Our county grant money would only allow us to continue on with our events and operate our visitor centers. I was just dumbfounded. What are we going to do? How are we going to manage?”

McLellan had heard of Twitter and Facebook, but the part-time marketing director just hadn’t found the time to look into them yet.

“I knew this was something I had to know, but this was the kick I needed,” she said.

With 2009 about to start, McLellan jumped head-first into researching social media and soon posted her first tweet. Now a year later, the community has completely replaced print advertising with social media and closed out 2009 with more lodge bookings than the year before.Twitter: 814 followers


Markbeech Marketing


Markbeech Marketing• What we do

– Social media – training, management and consulting• Facebook• Twitter• LinkedIn• blogging

– Email marketing– Traditional print/advertising– Website design/online advertising– Promotions

• Social Media Classes • Feedback form


Social Media Success: Local

The Cordial Cricketwww.TheCordialCricket.comChester, VA

Elizabeth Howard wanted to throw a party for the first anniversary of her store, The Cordial Cricket. Since it was a social event, she decided to use only Facebook, Twitter and emails to promote it. When a line of customers wrapped around the building an hour before the store opened, she know social media was an effective way to reach her customers.

Facebook: 724 ‘fans’Twitter: 1,629 followers


Your Target Market• Who are you trying to reach?

• Who are you talking to?

• What do you want them to know about you?

• Put together a profile of your perfect customer and then figure out where they are


What we will cover



Facebook

• Why is it important?– 500 million active users

• Is your target market there?– Be found by search engines

(SEO)– Drive traffic to your website, your

blog, other social media outlets– Direct communication with your

clients/customers/fans– Connect with influential people in

your industry

500

(active users are people who have logged in over the past 30

days.)


Facebook

• Why is it important?– Easily establish referral partners

• Promote your vendors/referral partners/network– Generate good will and more referrals

– Establish yourself as an expert– Gives you a competitive advantage


Facebook Profiles

• Personal Pages– Cannot be used as a

business page– Build your friend/family

base here– Encourage them to join

your business page

• Company Fan Pages– Your business page


Facebook: Help people find you

Customized URLhttp://www.facebook.com/username/

My Facebook page address is…http://facebook.com/MarkbeechMarketing

http://www.facebook.com/username/


Facebook: Strategy

Building your Fan (Business) Page – Six Steps

1. Set your objective2. Design Strategy

(Static FBML)3. Content Strategy4. Promotion Strategy5. Engagement Strategy6. Conversion Strategy


Facebook: Privacy

• Customize settings

• Be sure ‘posts by me’ goes out to friends of friends


Facebook: Privacy

• Account/Privacy Settings

• Be sure to check instant personalizationsettings


Facebook: Promotion

• Add a ‘Like’ button to your blog

•Add a ‘Fan’ box to your site

http://developers.facebook.com/plugins


Facebook: Updates• How often should I update my fan page?

– Depends on your business– At least 4-5x per week– Better 1-2x per day

• Schedule it once a week on www.Hootsuite.com



Twitter• Why is it important?

– 145 million active users– 180 million unique visitors

• Is your target market there?– Direct communication with

your followers– Connect with influential people

in your industry– Drive traffic to your website

and blog

145 million


Twitter

• Why is it important?– Easily establish referral

partners• Promote your vendors/referral

partners/network– Generate good will and more

referrals

– Establish yourself as an expert

– Gives you a competitive advantage


Twitter

Use Twitter for your own research• B2B

– Find great content for your Facebook page, blog• Articles• Inspirational quotes

– Keep on top of news• Industry trends/buzz• Local events/information• National news

– Find out about• Online events

“Twitter is my morning paper”


Twitter

• B2B– Use it to show your expertise– Retweet (RT) other people’s tweets you

think are valuable to your audience– Use it to promote/discuss events and shows

(use a hashtag #RVASM101) – Promote other people’s Twitter accounts on

Fridays (ex: #FF @RichmondMom)


Twitter

• B2C– Restaurants use it for promoting

special of the day, week, month• Use it to offer specials (#special)

– Retail shops use it to promote monthly specials, discounts, rebates

– Used to promote/discuss events and shows

Use Twitter to promote what you’re up to

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream@VLAIC


Twitter: Privacy/Security

• Do not tweet about being out of town unless you don’t care that everyone knows about it

• www.PleaseRobMe.com

• Do not autofollow


Twitter: Promotion

• Add a ‘Tweet’ button to your blog

•Add a Twitter widget to your site

http://developers.facebook.com/plugins


Twitter: Updates• How often should I Tweet?

– Depends on your business– At least 4-5x per day– Better 8-10x per day

• Schedule it once a week on www.Hootsuite.com


5 minute break



LinkedIn stats

Over 75 million usersAugust 2010

August 2009: 45 million users


Why Use LinkedIn?

• Great for SEO

• Drive traffic to your website, blog, Facebook, Twitter

• Connect with prospects

• Connect with influential people in your industry


LinkedIn

• Why is it important?– Easily establish referral partners

• Promote your vendors/referral partners/network– Generate good will and more referrals

– Establish yourself as an expert– Gives you a competitive advantage


Why Use LinkedIn?


Who’s on LinkedIn?

• Average Age: 41• Male: 64%• College Grad/Post Grad: 80.1%

• Average Household Income: $109,703• 53.5% have a Household Income $100k+• 24% Have a Portfolio Value of $250k+

• Business Decision Maker: 49%• Own Smartphone/PDA: 34%

Wow!

Statistics from LinkedStrateies.com


How to use LinkedIn

• Create a polished & personally branded profile

• Connect and reconnect• Join & use groups• Research prospects• Ask someone to introduce you


How to use LinkedIn

• Build your credibility– Get recommendations– Post relevant content on groups– Answer questions

• Create your own group• Update your profile regularly

– Weekly emails sent out


LinkedIn: Privacy• Adjust your public profile settings

– Settings/Public Profile/– Put a check mark next to the items you would

like to be visible on your public profile


LinkedIn: Updates

• How often should I update?– At least 1x per week (email sent out)

• What should I do?– Change your profile– Answer a question– Start a discussion in a group– Post an event (does not have to be

yours)


blogging


What is a blog?"A blog is a web page made up of usually short,

frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically—like a what's new page or a journal." The term is actually weblogs coined by Jorn Barger in 1997. According to Pyra Labs Blogger,

The boom of weblogs happened in 1999 when several companies & developers made easy blogging software and tools. Since 1999, the number of blogs on the Internet has exploded from a few thousand to over 100 million.


State of the blogosphere• 53% of professional Bloggers are interested in attracting new clients

from blogging

• 72% of those who are self-employed and blogging are interested in attracting new clients

• 56% say that their blog has helped their company establish a position as a thought leader within the industry

• 58% say that they are better-known in their industry because of their blog

Technorati.com


Why blog for business?

•Showcase your expertise

•Build your web traffic

- Be found by search engines (SEO)

•Connect with customers or referral partners

•Content for your Facebook and Twitter pages


blog: updates

• How often should I blog?– Depends on your business– At least 1x per week– More often the better

• Schedule it once a month on your CMS (ie: Wordpress)


Manage your updates

Content– Plan it

• Social Media calendar

– Schedule it• www.HootSuite.com

– For Facebook– For Twitter– For LinkedIn

• CMS (ie: Wordpress)– For blogs


Social Media StrategyMake a list of 25 prospects you would like to work with or 25 influential people you would like to be on their radar

• Check out their blog, comment on it regularly– Link your blog to their blog– Promote their blog postings on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

• Follow them on Twitter– RT their Twitter messages

• Become a Fan of their Facebook page– ‘Like’ their Facebook postings– Comment on their posts

• Connect with them on LinkedIn – See if you have anything in common on their LinkedIn page– Ask for an introduction


Where do I start?

• Take the top 25% of your customers– What social media do they use?

• Take your top prospects– What social media do they use?


Where do I start?

B2B• LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

blogging

B2C• Facebook/Twitter blogging LinkedIn


Social Media Content

• Be nice to people • Answer their questions • Respond to what they have to say • Post your own take on what is going

on around you• Give them some interesting facts• provide resources • add a little fun


What’s Next?

• Mobile marketing development• Location based marketing

– Foursquare– Google Places– Facebook Places

• Video – YouTube

• QR codes

http://createqrcode.appspot.com/


Resources

• Mashable.com• SocialMediaExaminer.com• SocialMediaExplorer.com• SocialMediaToday.com• OpenForum.com

• Facebook.com/MarkbeechMarketing


“The Butterfly Effect is the theory that the tiny flutter of a butterfly’s wings

can create enormous changes halfway across the world.”

~ Robert G. Allen


Thank you!

• Sign up for our other classes– Facebook: Start to Finish– Why You Need Twitter– LinkedIn: More that Just a Resume Site– Growing Your Business with Blogs

• Please fill out your evaluation• Become our Fan on Facebook

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